This message was delivered at the Celebration of Life for Sarah Lyke of The Foundery Free Methodist Church in Wellsburg, West Virginia, on September 7, 2024, after a two-year struggle with cancer! Perhaps - as you read this [about 15 minute read] - you'd like to lift a prayer for her husband, Gene, and their twelve-year-old-son, Gage. This blog is posted with Gene's permission.
If you’ve followed these blogs about experiencing the presence of God, then you will have realized that this has been an experiential response to the subject and not a biblical or theological attempt to understand it.
For most people, experiencing God’s presence is not a
biblical or theological issue. It’s
experiential! It’s closer to a sensing,
feeling or awareness. It’s noticeable
and memorable! It’s difficult to
describe – yet you realize that it was real!
Frequently – when in a group – others with spiritual sensitivities will
also sense it! Comments will be made:
My personal experiences of God’s presence certainly aren’t
limited to those described in the previous blog articles.
I don’t believe there are limitations to when or where He
might make Himself known! It probably
has a great deal to do with our openness and sensitivity!
When I was very young, I paid particular attention to these times of God’s nearness while I was growing up. I actually made an acute observation that I’ve never shared before. I simply noticed that God often drew near when we sang the hymn, “When Peace Like A River”, by Horatio B. Stafford in 1873. I observed outbreaks of shouting praises to God, humble weeping that prevented people from singing, and raised hands during the singing of this hymn. To read the remarkable story behind this hymn, follow the link:
https://steemit.com/steemchurch/@maycoded/when-peace-like-a-river-hymn-amazing-story-behind-the-hymn-you-don-t-wanna-miss-this
God dearly loves us!
He wants to bless His children!
He will make His presence known, if we will simply tune in and yield to
the tender work of His Holy Spirit!
May you experience His presence soon and often!
Working with Brenda Young at Cornerstone Church in Akron, Ohio, was exhilarating and foundational. I learned a lot through her teaching and modeling. By 2003, it became clear that she was leading the church in new directions and was beginning to target a younger age group than we had previously focused on.
Coordinated with that, Superintendent Charlie Young offered
me the opportunity to lead a church in the conference. I believe his words were something like: “You’ve
been operating under the radar long enough; the conference needs you to step up
and lead a church.” I didn’t accept his
first offer. However, when he mentioned
the New Middletown Free Methodist Church – Debbie accepted the offer! [Her family farm and five of her seven
siblings lived in proximity to this church.] 😆
Actually, I had made an attempt to move to New Middletown
when we were leaving East Liverpool in 1995, but the superintendent – at that
time – appointed his son instead. Subsequently,
we moved to Maryland.
So, after much learning and amazing experiences, we quit
our job with Shelter Care, packed up and moved to New Middletown, Ohio.
Turns out, it was the hardest start at a new church that I
had ever faced! The church was deeply
divided! It’s a story of its own, but
not a story for now.
Within six months, unity had been restored. There had been some losses, but there had
also been an equal number of gains.
For the first several years, I tried not to change much,
but to be dedicated to serving the people and discerning leadership
potential. Ultimately, the people began
to respond and the congregation began to grow.
With the approval of the Ministry Council [think Leadership Board], we
made a number of significant changes that would change the dynamics of the
church considerably.
Before long, we were averaging over 150. We had developed two capable worship
teams: One Generation and Here’s
Life! Actually, we had a third team that
played occasionally; we referred to them as the Gospel Team.
Lay leaders were utilized heavily in the leadership of
worship! I had several that I used for
preaching from time-to-time. Our staff –
of about ten leaders – met every Tuesday morning for evaluation and
planning. They were a very dedicated
group and hard working!
We tried hard to avoid predictability in worship. Without being extreme, we made subtle changes
in the worship format from week-to-week.
The music we learned and used was primarily upbeat and joyful. My only participation in the service was to
bring the message. Other leaders did
everything else. I began writing
dramas/skits to illustrate the messages.
I would turn them over to my sister-in-law, Laurie Mahosky. She would recruit participants and add her
own embellishments. These were often
humorous and sometimes quite powerful! They
were always well-received!
Before long, our pews were being filled every week and we
were breaking the two-hundred-barrier!
It was exciting. For over a year
we experimented with two services. We
saw explosive growth among our target group of individuals and couples in their
twenties and thirties. We had to expand
our nursery shortly after to accommodate all of the new babies that were part
of the congregation!
We were recognized by our denomination two years in a row
as a ‘Multiplying Church’. It was about
this time that we were asked to participate in a national survey of
churches. It was awkward because we were
asked to have our people fill out a form during worship that would take nearly
ten minutes.
We decided to participate, and our people took the
awkwardness in stride. The responses
were immediately placed in an envelope and sent in. Weeks later we received the results and our
leaders pored over them to see what we could learn from these vital
responses.
We were delighted – above all – to see that when asked: “How often do you experience the presence of
God in your church’s worship?”, our people resoundingly responded “Regularly!”
It was a vital affirmation that we were on the right
track!
The worship was vibrant!
Prayer was highly prioritized!
All age groups were fully represented.
There were no open conflicts among the body of believers. New people were attending regularly; not all
stayed, but many did! Leaders were being
continually recruited and trained. The
entire ministry was led by teams!
I have many memories of sensing the moving of God’s Holy
Spirit during our worship times! And I
am grateful for His leadership and for His blessing!
In February, 1997, the hand of God moved us to Akron, Ohio. We had passed through deep waters as a family and had completely disrupted our lives for four months by essentially becoming homeless by choice. I had left my appointment to the Spencerville, Maryland Free Methodist Church mid-year due to a family crisis. After months of struggle, financial distress and utter dependence on God, we landed a job in Akron that provided a home and an income.
We knew upon our arrival that we would attend the Akron
Cornerstone Church, where seminary acquaintances of ours were the pastors:
Charlie and Brenda Young.
From the very first Sunday, Debbie and I, Troy and Tracie
were wonderfully received. Being in this
new environment – where few knew me – catalyzed me to change my name from
Harold to Hal. 😊 Within weeks, Brenda invited me to join the
Cornerstone staff as a part-time associate.
Within a few months, she lost another pastor, and I became the Lead
Associate Pastor of the church.
This was the beginning of nearly six years of engagement that
would challenge and grow me in ways I could never have imagined!
Cornerstone had been led for years by Pastor Charlie [and
Brenda]. It had become a healthy church
that had built a new sanctuary and a strong, congregation of new
believers. Pastor Charlie had also
planted another church during his tenure near Dalton, Ohio! His passion was recognized and he was elected
to be the Ohio Conference Superintendent.
Brenda became the new Lead Pastor at Cornerstone.
The already healthy and growing church nearly doubled in
size in the next two years. Brenda built
aggressively on the foundation that she and Charlie had established through
many years of persistent and excellent leadership!
The Haire family arrived in the midst of this growth to see
a vibrant church of four hundred with a busy schedule and a staff of part-time
leaders.
LET ME TRY TO
DESCRIBE CORNERSTONE CHURCH AT THAT TIME
It was a vibrant church that was packing two services every
Sunday morning. Brenda referred to the
congregation as having a mall make-up.
It was as though you went to the local mall and just randomly selected
four hundred people and put them together in a church! There was no common social definer.
Brenda’s teaching/preaching style was a big key to the
growth! Her profoundly understandable
manner of presenting the Word in practical terms simply drew people!
The worship of the church was dynamic! For one thing, having a worship center packed
with people every Sunday does a lot to generate excitement! The worship team was amazing! The raw talent and fresh love for Jesus was
evident in this group! The mood of
worship was praise and joy! A prayer
time was always observed when people would come forward and kneel around the
altar four-and-five people deep! It represented
a passionate outcry to God and an utter expectation that He would draw near and
help!
[For a vivid picture of Cornerstone at that time, read my
blog describing our family’s first visit to the church: https://hal-lelujah.blogspot.com/2020/04/first-sunday.html]
THIS IS THE MOST
AMAZING CHURCH THAT I HAVE EVER BEEN PRIVILEGED TO SERVE!
During my time of service with Brenda, we saw new converts
every week! The church’s outreach was
largely based on several ‘feeders’:
1.
Brenda and I each did counseling. Our intervention in failing marriages was significant!
2.
The church operated Cornerstone Care, an
in-house counseling center that was staffed by several counselors who were an
integral part of our congregation.
3.
Jesus Said Ministry was a lay-led outreach to
the homeless in downtown Akron every Saturday morning that provided – in an
outdoor setting – hot food, free clothing, and vibrant, live worship! The crowd often numbered around 150. Many volunteers from various churches
participated!
4.
The church offered a free meal every week in our
fellowship hall to anyone who needed it!
5.
We operated a Sunday evening program called ‘Champion’s
Institute’ that offered classes to help new believers grow in their new-found
faith!
6.
Cornerstone offered several crowd-gathering events
each year on the property to gain an influence in people’s lives!
·
An annual outdoor music festival with food
booths.
·
An Easter-Egg Hunt that drew hundreds of
children and families!
·
A Trunk-n-Treat event over Halloween weekend
that engaged the children creatively and generously!
·
A mid-summer cook-out that featured meat grilled
by a couple of well-known Akron police officers!
·
An outdoor Christmas Light-Up event that
featured a famous Nativity set that had previously been featured on the roof of
a downtown department store.
7.
Cornerstone offered an ongoing NA group, Divorce-Care
group, prayer groups, Grief Share group, and a number of other specific
opportunities for growth and self-improvement!
Forgive me for failing to
mention so many other outreaches and programs that I simply am failing to
recall!
EXPERIENCING THE
PRESENCE OF GOD!!!!!!
Experiencing God’s presence was the norm at this amazing
church! It’s the only church I know of
where 75% of the congregants were first-time believers! Expectations were high!
First-time attenders frequently reported that they couldn’t
stop crying during worship. We explained
to them that they were experiencing the presence of God!!!!!
Things got rowdy! 😂
This congregation had NOT been steeped in the traditions of
the church! They didn’t know ‘how to
behave during worship’. 😆 Baptisms were greeted with vigorous
applause, hoots, clapping and cheers!
People danced in the aisles on occasions to the thrill of the upbeat
praise music! When the doors were opened
to the worship center, people ran to get the best seats and save them for
others!
Eventually, the church grew to over seven hundred! We acknowledged that no one knew everyone
anymore – not even Brenda!
God showed up every Sunday and at every special event! His presence blessed, healed, renewed,
challenged and rescued hundreds of souls!
There’s so much more that could be said and I feel that I’ve
failed to truly and effectively describe this remarkable movement of God. I know that my family was honored to be a
part of this ministry. When we left
Akron, our son, Troy, stayed and became part of the young adult leadership who
were beginning to take the church in new directions. This engagement helped to ground him during
critical years of his development!
I haven’t attended Cornerstone Church for a long time! It is currently under the leadership of Jacob
Young – Charlie and Brenda’s youngest son.
Their daughter, Rachel, is also a worship leader and major contributor to
the ministry. I’m confident that the
passion is still high and the influence is still great. When my current responsibilities at The
Foundery FMC in Wellsburg, WV end, I hope to visit Cornerstone to reconnect
with old friends and make new ones!
The spiritual influences that formed me have been diverse.
I’ve already spoken of the impact of my ‘growing up’ church
experience.
Immediately after Debbie and I were married, we took up
residence in Wilmore, Kentucky where I attended Asbury Theological Seminary for
three years. It was a United Methodist
school, so the diversity represented there – in professors and students – wasn’t
extreme.
However, within two years of leaving Asbury, I continued my
theological education at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. In this setting the theology department was
focusing on multiple threads of training:
Liberation Theology, Feminist Theology [half my classmates were women],
Calvinistic Theology, and Process Theology.
I struggled with the challenges I faced during this period, but I
believe I came out stronger as a result of this exposure and tension.
While attending PTS, I also dabbled in some Roman Catholic
experiences. I was particularly impacted
by a program called ‘Domus Dei’ [House of God].
It was an exhaustive engagement with a group of people who determined to
experience God through introspection and meditation! I made new friends and developed a greater
intimacy with God through blended and shared expressions of solitude and silence.
Within a very short time, I began studying for a Master of
Arts degree in Counseling at the Franciscan University of Steubenville
[OH]. Franciscan is a charismatic
Catholic University. My classmates
became my friends. I attended full-time
for two years to accomplish my goal [while being a full-time pastor of a
growing church and a husband and dad]. During this two years, I attended the
noon mass on campus with my classmates.
I picketed abortion clinics with my classmates. Debbie and I became very close to one couple
in particular. Ed had a heavy impact on
me during these years.
During the summer, Franciscan held massive tent meetings on
campus. People came from far and wide to
attend these meetings. I participated in
these several times and was deeply influenced by the powerful manifestation of
the Spirit in these meetings.
One of the things that impressed me most was that when the
meetings ended, I remained in my seat and just didn’t want to leave! I was not alone! Many remained in their seats. The worship team continued to play and we
continued to worship. Sometimes these ‘post-worship’
seasons went on for another hour! The
presence of God was tangible! There was
weeping. People went forward – alone or
in groups – to pray. The singing
moderated between joyful awareness and humble submission. The worship team was extremely sensitive to
the mood of the people! I was always one
of the last to leave! My most memorable and dynamic experiences of the presence of God took place in those tents and in that chapel!
From this time forward, I tried to train worship teams to
replicate this type of experience. The
difference was in the realization that the worship team had two roles:
1. To lead
passionately and draw people into the presence of God. This implied that the worship team members
had to already BE IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD!
2. To lead
responsively – sensing and responding to the mood of the worshippers. This required courage and a yielding to the
Spirit in the moment!
I remember the first time that our people began to linger
after the worship service ended. While
many left the sanctuary, others remained and moved closer to the worship team
to be united with them in delivering our praise to God! I was exuberant to see this occurring! I felt that a barrier had been broken!
I was indelibly impacted by these eclectic and divergent
experiences. I am thankful to God for
guiding me and allowing me to experience His presence in environments that were
not part of my ‘growing-up’ tradition!
It has enriched my life in innumerable ways!
At the age of thirty, I was appointed to lead the Oakland Free Methodist Church in East Liverpool, Ohio. This church had a beautiful, relatively new building just off a main boulevard in the east end of town. They owned nearly an entire block. It included a pleasant foyer, lovely worship center, educational wing and a fellowship hall where you could feed one hundred people at a sit-down meal!
Unfortunately, we arrived in East Liverpool simultaneous to the shutting down of the Crucible Steel Mill in nearby Midland, Pennsylvania. As a result, sixteen hundred families had lost their main source of income!
In addition, the community was significantly torn over opinions regarding the projected building of a Waste Technologies Industry facility within 1,500 feet of the church!
These factors combined to make our arrival in East Liverpool a challenge! Every church and business felt the stress of a community that was struggling for its very existence!
But, remarkably, this was not the major cause of concern in the Oakland Church!
The church had experienced a blessing of growth and new converts under the ministry of Harold Estel. It was under his leadership that the new property was purchased and the new building erected.
However, the growth of this period was devastated by several years of conflict and a mass departure of congregants, resulting in an older generation with a congregation of around seventy people.
Upon my arrival, the leadership of the church was constituted by people from my parents' generation. Some younger families and people remained, but they were not leaders or shapers of the future. My leadership began in the summer of 1982.
For a few years, I struggled to create changes. Most of my ideas and suggestions were rejected.
There is a general observation that a pastor will tend to reach those who are within a range of ten years younger or older. This is, of course, not a hard-and-fast rule, but is a commonly accepted phenomenon. Consequently, the growth we did see in those early years began to populate the church with couples and people closer to our age group.
One of the key teachers in the evangelical Christian community at this time was John Maxwell. He was leading a seminar at this time called 'Breaking The 200 Barrier'. I attended it alone. Then, I attended it a second time and took two Oakland leaders with me. Then, we went a third time with about eight leaders. Finally, we went a fourth time with nearly a dozen leaders.
We began to see a wave of new converts. As the worshiping congregation grew, there was some transfer growth [which is inevitable]. Within several years, we were a worshiping community of nearly one hundred fifty.
However, the tension between generations continued. Every gain came through opposition and conflict. My role became one of being a moderator between the two groups: one that had led the church for decades and a newer, younger group with charismatic leanings that were eager to work, innovate and see Kingdom growth!
The 1980's saw an explosion of new worship innovations as a result of the 'Praise & Worship Movement'. Integrity Music, Hosanna and other creators contributed to this period. The concept of leading worship with a team was beginning to become popular. Oakland had enjoyed a rich tradition of music led by a song leader with an accompanist at the organ and piano. We began experimenting with new approaches in our Sunday evening worship. It was well-received! Gradually, we transitioned our morning worship as well. The church continued to grow and we occasionally saw our attendance exceed two hundred! It was a blessed time! Too many stories to tell!
Key lay leaders emerged who became significant influencers! Gifted musicians partnered to create a free-flowing worship environment that energized our people and cultivated a deep love for God!
The use of simple choruses and new musical forms catalyzed our worship experience. All of this took place without abandoning the much-loved hymns of the church!
As a result of the growth, the opposition became somewhat less intense - although it never ended! The victories were gained by a simple, overwhelming growth - especially in the area of new converts!
Many of my most noteworthy times of worship took place in the sanctuary of the Oakland Church! I have purposely avoided mentioning names for fear of omitting someone who was key to this time of spiritual renewal!
KEY FACTORS:
